Since the composition and structure of the boards are entirely new, as a one-off, these will be closed rather than public sessions. This is so we can give the boards an induction to IVSC and an opportunity to form and be comfortable with each other and the expectations of them before we then open them up for the future.

The boards will discuss what valuation issue areas need to be covered next and how the Standards should evolve, taking into consideration previous areas identified. This will then be put into a public consultation paper asking for additional input from stakeholders around the world, and from the Advisory Forum Working Group (AFWG). Updates from the standards boards will continue to come through the AFWG and eNews.

The standards boards will also consider how often they should meet. All future boards will revert to having open sessions with observer participation.

The approach to financial instruments will be considered at a meeting in early April by a group of stakeholders including regulators, banks, accountancy standards setters and leading accountancy firms, amongst others.

Supporting the standards boards from a staffing perspective will be:

Alexander Aronsohn, RICS

Kevin Prall, KPMG

Peter Melvin, EY

Many thanks to PwC and to Adam Smith for his time and dedication over the past 21 months. Adam is kindly going to continue as a Technical Adviser to IVSC.

We are very grateful to KPMG for providing us with Kevin Prall as a replacement BV Standards Director. Kevin has an excellent reputation in this key area.

Update from IVSC Advisory Forum Working Group Chair, John Martin

The AFWG met in Washington DC at The Appraisal Foundation earlier this month. Concepts which had been brought up at the AGM were discussed and there was broad agreement on the following:

IVSC should be the vehicle for the publication of a single set of global standards

These standards should be Principles based

The IVSC's prime focus is as a standard setter

The IVSC should promote and advocate for the adoption of a single set of global standards

The IVSC should not be involved in creating education and training, as this is the role of the VPO

The IVSC can act as a clearing house for knowledge developed by VPOs etc.

The AFWG is preparing a paper for consideration in June for the national standard setters to secure adoption of IVS on or before 2020 by all members. This paper will take into account national practice and the in-country roles particularly in relation to national legislation.

The AFWG is now going to establish better communication across all members. This will include a global network for Business Valuation (as there are fewer VPOs) and a regional network for Tangible Assets to encourage better two way dialogue, and input and liaison with the new standards boards from VPOs.

This will be through calls and the development of an interactive forum on the IVSC website. VPOs who wish to participate in both Business Valuation and Tangible Assets can of course do so.

The latest from the Membership and Standards Recognition Board

The Membership and Standards Recognition Board (MSRB) first met in September in London and has since held a number of calls to start work on achieving its core focus on recognition of IVS.

MSRB's face-to-face meetings are very much action based and target key financial centres around the world where major users are often located. The location of the Board’s second face-to-face meeting last week was Hong Kong.

Stakeholders were divided into three groups: business valuation, tangible assets and end users/regulators, each group with members of the MSRB.

The purpose of the stakeholder meetings was to provide an overview of IVSC, the MSRB’s mandate and to develop an understanding from the market of:

Awareness and references to IVS

The market reputation of the IVS

The biggest valuation issues in Hong Kong and wider Asia

What steps IVSC might take to improve market adoption of the IVS

How professionalism might be improved in the Hong Kong market

The sessions were energetic, with each stakeholder group providing insightful comments. In particular, it was useful to hear that there are significant differences between tangible assets and business valuation in terms of approaches from a standards and professionalism perspective. This feedback will be used to develop a considered approach to achieving additional IVS recognition, with a particular focus on end users.

The MSRB also considered a number of other key areas such as the current admissions approach for membership, as well as how we interact with key stakeholders.

IVSC’s CEO, Nick Talbot, and a member of the MSRB, Aart Hordijk, are going to take action to build a stronger academic network.

IVS 2017 Basis for Conclusions document available now

As part of ongoing efforts to improve our standard-setting process, we believe in operating in an open and transparent way. The Basis for Conclusions document, which outlines the basis for many changes made in IVS 2017, is a critical part of a transparent standard-setting process, consistent with the practices of other standard-setters around the world, such as the IASB and FASB.

The Basis for Conclusions do not form part of IVS 2017, but have been drafted to provide the reader with the rationale behind certain changes made within IVS 2017. This document provides bases for conclusions for certain changes made from IVS 2013 as well as changes made as a result of the responses received as part of the IVS 2017 consultation process.

The Basis for Conclusions document provides important insights into the standard-setting process and historical context for these standards, which may be considered in the interpretation of these standards and in future standard-setting activities.

In January, we took a significant step towards our goal of harmonising global valuation practice, as we released IVS 2017 - the key guidance for valuation professionals across the world that will underpin consistency, transparency and confidence in valuation.

All Members and Sponsors of IVSC have been given complimentary access to IVS 2017 online.

If you don’t belong to any of our Members or Sponsors, you can access IVS 2017 by subscribing to IVSonline, our newly launched portal for the Standards.